FAA schedules Angoon airport meetings

ANGOON - The Federal Aviation Administration will be hosting public scoping meetings in Anchorage, Juneau and Angoon for a proposed land-based airport on Admiralty Island to serve Angoon.

The meetings will be held in Juneau from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at Centennial Hall, in Anchorage from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Loussac Library, and in Angoon from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30 and 31 at the Angoon Community Center.

The meetings will provide information on project planning and let the public ask questions and comment on the issues and alternatives that will be included in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The EIS will analyze potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the airport and alternatives. The FAA is the lead agency for the preparation of the EIS.

"These meetings help identify important questions and concerns early on in the process," said Leslie Grey, the FAA's Project Manager. "We want to make sure the best alternatives are presented in this EIS and that means we need to consider lots of different information and points of view in order to understand the broader picture."

The EIS process is expected to take three or more years to complete and will disclose impacts to the human and natural environment that might occur as a result of the airport. .

Comments will be accepted through Dec. 31 and can be submitted at the public meetings, e-mailed to comments@angoonairporteis.com, submitted online at www.angoonairporteis.com or mailed to Leslie Grey AAL-614; FAA Project Manager, Angoon Airport EIS; 222 W. 7th Ave., Box 14; Anchorage, AK 99513-7587.